We raised 4 on a 42 ftr 3girls and 1 boy. When our son was 9 he could reef and stand a day watch, of 2 to 3 hours, could drop and retrive an anchor, and many other jobs around the boat ! of course he loved to swim and dive run the dink and all the kid stuff! We always tried to keep our sea days as few as we could so the kids got to see more places and had a chance to get ashore when we got where we were going ! Believe me, kids can and do become good sailors! all our kids still sail one owns her own boat ! so as far as we are concerned kids belong at sea !! espcialy now adays ! Just our 2 cents

Look at a used Sabre. 38 or 42 feet.
I am 6'3" and had a hard time finding a boat with a comfortable berth.
With the 425 you have two berths big enough for two couples and a great pull out setee. You could sleep in either cabin with son in other cabin. He could then move to salon when you get the inevitable guest.
But then there are other less expensive boats -- former charter Beneteaus that would work too. Look at the 437 or 461.

A 42' sabre for a newbee first boat? To go from N.C. to the keys?
Hello.

Asking 8 K. Custom pilothouse! Owner turned down a cash offer of $250, so he's going to play hardball.

I appreciate 2 sides to every story - but the version I heard was that the transaction fell through from your unwillingness to provide proof of funds and therefore you did not get classified as a "Serious Buyer". Perhaps would have been better to employ a (Buyers) Broker?

But with selling stuff (boats particularly) always have to deal with at least some whose dreams are bigger than their wallets..........

I appreciate 2 sides to every story - but the version I heard was that the transaction fell through from your unwillingness to provide proof of funds and therefore you did not get classified as a "Serious Buyer". Perhaps would have been better to employ a (Buyers) Broker?

But with selling stuff (boats particularly) always have to deal with at least some whose dreams are bigger than their wallets..........

It's nice being able to shut out the rest of the world once in a while while boating.
The rooms on our boat all have doors and the privacy pays off.

We have direct Sat TV at home. For just $10 more a month we have two sat TV's on the boat as well.
I love sports, movies, the weather channel, breaking news,, it's nice being able to close the door and watch the tube. Especially in weather.

We have guest aboard doors as opposed to curtains helps everyone get along much better too.

Two boats you may want to look into, but I don't know about their availability. One 35' that I have been on that has an AMAZING amount of space below is a Chris Craft Caribbean. It has fore and aft separate cabins, each with their own heads! Puny center cockpit, though. Made in the mid-1970's. Another boat that looks like a similar set-up is a mid-70's Coronado 35'. That one may be available inexpensively, but it is in Tortola, BVI.

As a childless ex high school teacher most of experience has been with teenagers but a 9 year old should be able to make decisions understanding the consequences and be able to stick to any agreement made.

You're making the assumption that your son wants his own cabin. Unless he's told you that himself it may not be true. He may have a whole lot of things that are important that you don't know about.

Why not have a talk with him about what he wants, and bring him along when you look at boats. Ask his opinion as to whether he would feel comfortable in the boat that you're looking at.

My experience of children is that bribery is remarkably effective, once I know what they want. And they bribe real cheap!

My guess is that he'd swap a separate cabin for assurances of contact with other children with similar interests, outboard privileges, access to a decent pair of binoculars, guaranteed computer time and being able to watch his favorite TV shows.

Problem with most enclosed aft cabins in small boats is that you can't shut the door in more than 65 degrees without steaming yourself.
I prefer the traditional v berth, main cabin, and pilot berth setup in the mild-low 30 foot range. You can use curtains for privacy without disrupting the airflow. Doors and bulkhead in small boats rarely give sound privacy, so curtains work just as well. We have our kids sleep in the vberth on our boat, and we sleep on the convertible dinette under the hatch and love it. Takes 1 minute to convert, and makes the next 8 hours of sleep worthwhile. We sewed a fitted sheet sleeve with sewn on top sheet that enclosed a cut to fit piece of memory foam, so we just roll it up when we're done, and unroll it to sleep on, no tucking needed and super comfortable to sleep on.

Especially on chesapeake in summer, there just aren't many aft cabins in boats our size that ventilate well enough to sleep in, and in cooler weather most feel like a cave until you get to the 40 foot range.
Who wants to sleep next to a radiant furnace (engine) anyway?
Just my opinion, of course.

Problem with most enclosed aft cabins in small boats is that you can't shut the door in more than 65 degrees without steaming yourself.
I prefer the traditional v berth, main cabin, and pilot berth setup in the mild-low 30 foot range. You can use curtains for privacy without disrupting the airflow. Doors and bulkhead in small boats rarely give sound privacy, so curtains work just as well. We have our kids sleep in the vberth on our boat, and we sleep on the convertible dinette under the hatch and love it. Takes 1 minute to convert, and makes the next 8 hours of sleep worthwhile. We sewed a fitted sheet sleeve with sewn on top sheet that enclosed a cut to fit piece of memory foam, so we just roll it up when we're done, and unroll it to sleep on, no tucking needed and super comfortable to sleep on.

Especially on chesapeake in summer, there just aren't many aft cabins in boats our size that ventilate well enough to sleep in, and in cooler weather most feel like a cave until you get to the 40 foot range.
Who wants to sleep next to a radiant furnace (engine) anyway?
Just my opinion, of course.

It's a good comment and applies to the 45 footers too! I guess it depends onwhere you plan on being inthe summer!

__________________"I spent most of my money on Booze, Broads and Boats. The rest I wasted" - Elmore Leonard

Why not have a talk with him about what he wants, and bring him along when you look at boats. Ask his opinion as to whether he would feel comfortable in the boat that you're looking at.

My guess is that he'd swap a separate cabin for assurances of contact with other children with similar interests, outboard privileges, access to a decent pair of binoculars, guaranteed computer time and being able to watch his favorite TV shows.

Outboard privileges! I rowed everywhere. With an outboard you can visit the kids in the next cove. Maybe even a girl.